Space News thread

[Takeovers]

Last but not least, Thales Alenia of Italy also builds the pressure vessel of at least one of the modules NASA is planning to orbit the Moon, as a jump off point for crew landings on the Moon in the Artemis program. The pressure vessel of the module carrying the Northrup Grumman logo is built by Thales Alenia.

[david44]

How best to view the eclipse in Thailand?

[thailazer]

Spacecraft debris or a metorite? I am sure they will uncover whatever it was.

[Takeovers]

Spacecraft debris or a metorite? I am sure they will uncover whatever it was.

There was a meteor shower at that time. So meteor is not unlikely.

[Edmond]

Where did that Chinese rocket crash down over the weekend? The one from the final piece of the Tiangong space station?

[S Landreth]

NASA is targeting Monday, Nov. 14, for the launch of the Artemis I Moon mission during a 69-minute launch window that opens at 12:07 a.m. EST. The launch countdown will begin Saturday, Nov. 12, at 12:27 a.m.

Artemis I is the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft, and the ground systems at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida that will pave the way for a crewed test flight and future human lunar exploration as part of Artemis.

Both of us will be here. She might not be happy with a 12:07 am launch. I will not be able to take good pictures because of an evening launch, but we still might go to see history being made.

Parking can be a bitch.

[Takeovers]

Where did that Chinese rocket crash down over the weekend? The one from the final piece of the Tiangong space station?

According to the US Space Command it crashed in the Pacific.

nytimes.com

[Takeovers]

Both of us will be here. She might not be happy with a 12:07 am launch. I will not be able to take good pictures because of an evening launch, but we still might go to see history being made.

I wish you good luck. There is a non zero chance it will actually launch on that date.

[S Landreth]

I will be following closely………

Sunday, Nov. 13

2:30 p.m.: Coverage of tanking operations to load propellant into the SLS rocket begins, including views of the rocket and Launch Control Center and audio from a commentator.

9:30 p.m.: Coverage of launch begins in English. Coverage will continue through translunar injection and spacecraft separation, setting Orion on its path to the Moon.

11 p.m.: Coverage of launch begins in Spanish on NASA’s Spanish-language YouTube account and will continue approximately 15 minutes after liftoff. Mission coverage updates will be posted on the NASA en español social media channels.

3 a.m.: Coverage of the postlaunch news conference will follow approximately one hour after the live launch broadcast ends. Coverage start time is subject to change, based on the exact liftoff time. The postlaunch news conference will include the following participants:

• Bill Nelson, NASA administrator 
• Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, NASA Headquarters
• Mike Bolger, Exploration Ground Systems Program manager, Kennedy
• John Honeycutt, Space Launch System Program manager, Marshall
• Howard Hu, Orion Program manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
• Emily Nelson, chief flight director, Johnson

7:30 a.m.: Coverage of Orion’s first outbound trajectory burn on the way to the Moon. Coverage start time is subject to change, based on the exact liftoff time.

8:50 a.m.: Coverage of first Earth views from Orion during outbound coast to the Moon.

NASA Television coverage of additional events throughout the mission is  available online.

[S Landreth]

I will be in Miami on Wednesday (the 16^th), so I’ll miss the live shot.

• NASA Prepares Rocket, Spacecraft Ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole, Re-targets Launch

NASA is continuing to monitor Tropical Storm Nicole and has decided to re-target a launch for the Artemis I mission for Wednesday, Nov. 16, pending safe conditions for employees to return to work, as well as inspections after the storm has passed. Adjusting the target launch date will allow the workforce to tend to the needs of their families and homes, and provide sufficient logistical time to get back into launch status following the storm.

Kennedy currently is in a HURCON (Hurricane Condition) III status, which includes securing facilities, property and equipment at the center, as well as briefing and deploying the “ride-out” team. As part of NASA’s hurricane preparedness protocol, a “ride-out” team includes a set of personnel who will remain in a safe location at Kennedy throughout the storm to monitor centerwide conditions, including the flight hardware for the Artemis I mission. Kennedy will release non-essential personnel at the HURCON II status as the agency continues to prioritize its employees in the Kennedy area.

Based on expected weather conditions and options to roll back ahead of the storm, the agency determined Sunday evening the safest option for the launch hardware was to keep the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft secured at the pad.

The SLS rocket is designed to withstand 85 mph (74.4 knot) winds at the 60-foot level with structural margin. Current forecasts predict the greatest risks at the pad are high winds that are not expected to exceed the SLS design. The rocket is designed to withstand heavy rains at the launch pad and the spacecraft hatches have been secured to prevent water intrusion.

In preparation for the storm, teams have powered down the Orion spacecraft, SLS core stage, interim cryogenic propulsion stage, and boosters. Engineers have also installed a hard cover over the launch abort system window, retracted and secured the crew access arm on the mobile launcher and configured the settings for the environmental control system on the spacecraft and rocket elements. Teams also are securing nearby hardware and performing walkdowns for potential debris in the area.

Teams are poised to resume work as soon as weather and Kennedy center status allows. Once back on-site, technicians will perform walkdowns and inspections at the pad to assess the status of the rocket and spacecraft as soon as practicable.

A launch during a two-hour window that opens at 1:04 a.m. EST on Nov. 16 would result in a splashdown on Sunday, Dec. 11. If needed, NASA has a back-up launch opportunity on Saturday, Nov. 19, and will coordinate with the U.S. Space Force for additional launch opportunities.

[Takeovers]

SpaceX has reflown their first stages of Falcon 9 rockets many times now. Older boosters were so far used for their own Starlink sats, so any risk would be in house. Now Intelsat has flown 2 GEO sats on a booster that had flown 13 times before. Remarkable that Intelsat trusts such an old booster enough to fly their very expensive satellites. Customers really trust SpaceX reused boosters now, even after many flights.

https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/stat...63547485450245

For this heavy, demanding payload the booster was expended after its 14th flight.

15 flights is the limit for Falcon 9 boosters presently. But they are working on certifying them for even more flights.

[Takeovers]

Live streams für den SLS Start Artemis 1. Presently on hold but that is not unusual.

Stream of NSF forum



NASA stream




I prefer NSF stream, personal choice.

[misskit]

https://twitter.com/NASA_SLS?ref_src...oration-534646

[S Landreth]

wish I was there.........

[S Landreth]

NASA launches website to keep track of Artemis I

NASA: Artemis I

[Edmond]

There's me clicking Next, like a retard.

[Takeovers]

A NASA video of the Mars sample return mission as is recently planned. Watch it for the launch of the return rocket, if nothing else.

Samples are being collected by the Perseverance rover presently. Two sets of samples are being collected. One will be dropped by the rover at a convenient location, one will stay with the rover in the hope Perseverance will still be operational, when the return vehicle arrives and can deliver the samples directly. Alternative option will be using a helicopter like Ingenuity that is flying with the rover to collect the dropped cache.



BTW, NASA is serious about that method of launch!

[OhOh]

China completes all launches at its space station construction stage following latest successful Shenzhou-15 mission

By
Deng Xiaoci


Published: Nov 29, 2022 11:49 PM

"China successfully launched the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft via a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Tuesday, which marked the completion, within two years, of all 11 space launch missions scheduled at the construction stage for the country's first permanent space station.

Carrying the Shenzhou-15 craft, the Long March-2F Y15 rocket took off from the Jiuquan center located in the Gobi Desert in Northwest China's Gansu Province at 11:08 pm Tuesday, and after a flight around 10 minutes, the Shenzhou-15 with a new trio of taikonauts onboard, entered its preset orbit, according to a statement the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) sent to the Global Times, announcing the success of the launch mission.

The Tuesday launch marks the 11th space launch mission and also the final one at the construction stage of the China Space Station. China began construction of the three-module space station with the launch of Tianhe core module - the main living quarters for the taikonauts - in April 2021.

Despite being under a tight schedule of just 20 months, China has delivered all of the 11 launches - three for mega space station modules, four for Shenzhou manned spacecraft and four for Tianzhou cargo spacecraft - in an uninterrupted sequence of success, reflecting China's robust development in the domain of manned space technology.

It shows once again China's speed and precision, and more importantly, China's reliability to always deliver its plans, Song Zhongping, a space observer and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Ever since the launch of the country's manned spaceflight program in 1992, China has been marching toward its set goals with unwavering determination and that is what makes it achieve one victory after another, Song noted.

It is also amazing that China has done this on its own, a Beijing-based space analyst who requested not to be named told the Global Times, noting that "it took 15 countries a decade and more than 30 missions to assemble the International Space Station (ISS)."

Several observers also pointed out the completion of China Space Station, which is designed to last for at least one decade in orbit, is of a global significance especially as the aging ISS could cease operations by the end of the decade, and even sooner by 2024.

"The completion of the Tiangong Space Station is a significant technical achievement that China has made. The Chinese station may offer some stability at a time when the US and its partners will be undergoing a period of transition from the ISS to the development and use of commercial space stations," Mariel Borowitz, associate professor with the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, told the Global Times via email.

After accomplishing the success of the launch mission, the space station project is to next transit into an application and development phase which will last more than a decade. The Long March-2F carrier rocket, according to its developer China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), will continue to execute manned spaceflight missions at a frequency of twice a year, playing an important role at the space station operational stage.
'Six plus six' milestone

The Shenzhou-15 crew consists of mission commander veteran taikonaut Fei Junlong and two space newcomers, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu. It will conduct China's first-ever direct crew handover at the China Space Station with the Shenzhou-14 trio led by commander Chen Dong.

According to the mission plan, the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft will conduct a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the space station combo at Tianhe core module's front port and then form a new combo of three space crafts and three modules.

It will be the largest structure of the China Space Station to date with a total mass of nearly 100 tons.

"We are about to witness the great sight of a 'six plus six' in space, as we shall have a combination of six space crafts and modules and six taikonauts simultaneously in the orbit some 400 kilometers above the Earth's ground," a mission insider with China's state-owned aerospace giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and the main contractor of space station project, told the Global Times.

The Chinese astronaut training system revealed on Tuesday that the crew handover will take about six days, during which Shenzhou-14 crew will mainly prepare for their return to Earth, whereas the Shenzhou-15 crew will focus on setting up space station working status and adapting themselves with the space environment and concluding the handover according to plan.

The astronaut training system told the Global Times that the China Space Station has two separate sets of kitchen equipment, enabling the two crews to prepare their own meals at the same time. They can also choose to dine together or separately.

Likewise, there are also two bathrooms and six sleeping booths in Tianhe and Wentian modules, which the two crews could use separately.

During their upcoming six-month stay in the China Space Station, the Shenzhou-15 crew will carry out works including the verification of long-term stays in the space station combo, the unlocking, installation and testing of 15 science experiment cabinets and carrying out more than 40 experiments in the fields of space science research and applications, space medicine and space technology, among others.

They will also conduct three to four extravehicular activities during the mission. They will witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-6 cargo craft and Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship. They will also have a direct handover with the Shenzhou-16 crew in orbit.

According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Tuesday, two "mini cubes" supporting life science experiments will be taken to the China Space Station.

One of them will be installed in the life science cabinet inside the Wentian space lab to be used for the study and research on space radiation metrology and biological damage assessment technology, the CAS told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The other one will be taken to the life and ecology experiment cabinet, also located in Wentian, to support the study of the impact of microgravity as it is related to plant cell structure and functional molecular network, the CAS explained.

As more experiment units and samples are sent to the China Space Station, there will be more interdisciplinary and long-term experiment series, and in the meantime, those space science payload will be maintained and upgraded to secure the advancement of the space experiment facility, the CAS said."

China completes all launches at its space station construction stage following latest successful Shenzhou-15 mission - Global Times

[harrybarracuda]

The Orion splashdown will be live on Youtube at 12:39 p.m. EST (which by my fag packet calculation is 00:30 here, before the England - France game).

Because it will be travelling so fast they are going to bounce it off the atmosphere once to slow it down then bring it in again, which is something new.

As NASA’s Artemis I mission to the Moon draws to a close, the Orion spacecraft is on its way back to Earth, with the planned splashdown on Sunday, December 11, fast approaching. When Orion is nearing its return to Earth, it will attempt the first skip entry for a human spacecraft. This maneuver is designed to pinpoint its landing spot in the Pacific Ocean.
During this skip entry, Orion will dip into the upper part of Earth’s atmosphere and use that atmosphere, along with the lift of the capsule, to skip back out of the atmosphere, then reenter for final descent under parachutes and splashdown. It’s a little like skipping a rock across the water in a river or lake.
“The skip entry will help Orion land closer to the coast of the United States, where recovery crews will be waiting to bring the spacecraft back to land,” said Chris Madsen, Orion guidance, navigation and control subsystem manager. “When we fly crew in Orion beginning with Artemis II, landing accuracy will really help make sure we can retrieve the crew quickly and reduces the number of resources we will need to have stationed in the Pacific Ocean to assist in recovery.”

Live coverage here:

[DrWilly]

Not only will the skip landing mean a more accurate splashdown but also lower g forces for any future crew, as the g forces are spread over two events. The knew about this for Apollo but didn't have the maths or tech to get it right.

[harrybarracuda]

I fucked up on the time, it's tonight (well early tomorrow).

[Edmond]

they are going to bounce it off the atmosphere once to slow it down then bring it in again

The knew about this for Apollo but didn't have the maths or tech to get it right.

Definitely not something you want to get wrong.


The official Nasa protocol for the manned Apollo missions was that if a ship did skip off the atmosphere, or was otherwise lost without hope of rescue, was to cut all radio communications, and the crew would be left alone without any communication, drifting off into infinity.

[Topper]

t's tonight (well early tomorrow).

Around 11:30 Thai time, right? 12:30EST???

[Takeovers]

Around 11:30 Thai time, right? 12:30EST???

Landing coverage is planned to begin 11:00 PM Thai time.

[Takeovers]

The knew about this for Apollo but didn't have the maths or tech to get it right.

Even more importantly they did not know enough of the high atmosphere. It is highly variable with time of year, weather and even sun activity. Today we know more of the high Mars atmosphere than we knew back then about Earth.